Laurel High School students might soon learn about the excavation site at Troy, the ruins of the Temple of Aphrodite and the dome of Hagia Sophia through the lessons of the school’s art director, Kevin Holder. Holder, 51, was one of 54 teachers nationwide — and the only one from Prince George’s County — selected to participate in a two-week tour of Turkey from June 28 to July 11. The annual trip was sponsored by the Turkish Cultural Foundation, a nonprofit organization promoting Turkish culture, and the World Affairs Councils of America, a nonprofit group promoting cultural exchanges. Both are based in Washington. Holder, of Columbia, said he plans to show images of ceramics, carvings and temple designs to his students, who will be able to use them as inspiration to create works based on Turkish influences.

The new pilot magazine, a collaboration between Hearst Magazines and Dr. Mehmet Oz, debuts in first-quarter 2014. Dr. Oz's new magazine has an editor in chief: Alison Brower, who's spent the last five months as special projects editor at The Hollywood Reporter. Brower, the award-winning former executive editor of Redbook and deputy editor of Glamour, will lead Hearst's efforts to publish two pilot issues of a lifestyle publication for women, with health content as well as food, beauty, news, travel and finance. The title of the magazine will be announced in the coming weeks.

The "Turkish village" complex will be built on 60 thousand acres area in Maryland province of the US with an aim to abolish Islamaphobia following September 11 attacks. Dr. Yasar Colak, Washington Embassy Religious Affairs Counselor and President of Turkish American Community Center, expressed they made a dream come true of Muslims in America.

As a result of the action campaign by the Pax Turcica Institute, the New York state legislature adopted Resolution K298 celebrating the 93rd anniversary of Turkish National Sovereignty and Children's Day on April 23, 2013 and greeting all Turkish-Americans and the Pax Turcica members on this occasion.

Washington City Paper voted ATAA local chapter, American Turkish Association of Washington DC (ATA-DC) has having the "Best Cultural Festival". The Smithsonian Institute's Folk Life Festival placed second. In addition, in the category of Food and Drinks, ATADC Turkish Restaurant Week won the "Best Culinary Event" title, over Taste of DC and DC Restaurant Week. ATADC DC Turkish Festival had won the Best Cultural Festival of DC title in 2011 as well. For more information on the Turkish Festival, please visit: www.turkishfestival.org.

The 12th Annual Boston Turkish Film Festival, organized by the Turkish American Cultural Society of New England is taking place at the Boston Museum of Fine Arts. Sponsored by a major grant from the Turkish Cultural Foundation, the Festival will host Turkey's leading filmmakers and critically acclaimed movies and run through April 7th. One of the premier cultural events of the Turkish American community, the festival is organized by the Turkish American Cultural Society of New England with support from the Museum of Fine Arts.

By Natalie Davis (http://morristown.patch.com) - What a difference six months make. More than half a year ago, Oscar and Anna Ata of Bedminster launched their plan to start a business marketing imported Turkish items. The new South Street enterprise, called A Taste of Turkey, had its grand opening last week. Oscar Ata said the opening event, which featured a visit from Morristown Mayor Timothy Dougherty, was a huge success, but the newly minted entrepreneur still carries a little disappointment.

Turkish singer and songwriter Sezen Aksu will return to London Oct. 5 this year, after a triumphant concert that saw over 3,500 people in attendance at London’s Royal Albert Hall in 2011. This will be her third show in one of the world’s most iconic and prestigious venues.

ATLANTA, AA (February 8, 2013) - Resolutions recognizing the work of Istanbul Center, the Turkish American Chamber of Commerce (TACC), the Turkic-American Federation of the Southeast (TAFS), and the Turkish-American community in the Atlanta area were passed by both the Georgia State Senate and House of Representatives today during the 4th Annual Turkish American Day at the Georgia Capitol on February 7, 2013.

On Dec 3rd and 20th, New Jersey General Assembly and Senate in Trenton recognized Turkish-American organizations for their tireless efforts trying to make a difference in the state of NJ. Peace Islands Institute, Turkish Cultural Center, Turkish American Business Development and Improvement and the Pioneer Academy of Science were honored by both the Assembly and the Senate.

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NEW YORK (AP) — A media industry group says U.S. newspaper circulation was almost unchanged in the six months ended Sept. 30. The Wall Street Journal kept its position as the No. 1 newspaper. Its average circulation grew 9.4% to 2.3 million. USA TODAY was second at 1.7 million, followed by The New York Times at 1.6 million. Circulation at the Times grew 40% from a year ago. More than half of the Times' circulation was for digital editions Average daily circulation in the April-September period slid 0.2% for the 613 newspapers included in the semiannual study by the Audit Bureau of Circulations. Sunday circulation for the 528 newspapers in Tuesday's report increased 0.6%.

On Novermber 30 , with recognition of American and Turkish Anthems began the grand opening of the new facility of Ahiska Turkish American Community Center, located at 1306, E Fifth street, Dayton,Ohio. Not only all top officials of Dayton but also those from Montgomery County, Ohio State, Turkish Embassy and heads of many international organizations attended the event: State Senator Bill Beagle,State Representative Roland Winburn, Consul General of the Republic of Turkey Fatih Yildiz,the former governor of Ohio Bob Taft, Secretaries of Azerbaijan Embassy Rashad Najaf and Emil Safarov, , Past President of Assembly of Turkish American Assocuiations Gunay Evinch, General Secretary of Federation of Turkish American Associations Turan Atabek Ayaz, Former president of International Committee for Crimea Inci Bowman, Director of Karabakh Foundation Adil Bugairov,Representatives of World Union of Ahiska Turks Sadyr Eibov and Abbas Hamza,Leaders of Dayton Communities, Dayton University and Wright State University Officials, Businessmen, and many other guests.

The Turkish-American community is helping Hurricane Sandy victims get back on their feet. Their latest effort, donating funds to the Queens Library in New York. To watch the video click at http://news.ebru.tv/en/video/turkish-americans-donate-50k-to-queens-library

Few archaeological sites seem as entwined with conflict, ancient and modern, as the city of Karkemish. The scene of a battle mentioned in the Bible, it lies smack on the border between Turkey and Syria, where civil war rages today. Twenty-first century Turkish sentries occupy an acropolis dating back more than 5,000 years, and the ruins were recently demined. Visible from crumbling, earthen ramparts, a Syrian rebel flag flies in a town that regime forces fled just months ago. A Turkish-Italian team is conducting the most extensive excavations there in nearly a century, building on the work of British Museum teams that included T.E. Lawrence, the adventurer known as Lawrence of Arabia. The plan is to open the site along the Euphrates river to tourists in late 2014.